Leona Helmsley Estate Update

Here are some recent developments on Leona Helmsley’s estate from Christina S.N. Lewis, ‘Queen of Mean’ Lair To List for $125 Million, online.wsj.com, Feb. 1, 2008:

Representatives of the estate of Leona Helmsley have decided to list her Greenwich, Conn., mansion for $125 million, people close to the negotiations said.***

Known as Dunnellen Hall, the estate of more than 40 acres was at the center of Mrs. Helmsley’s 1989 federal tax-evasion trial, when she was accused of illegally billing her company for more than $3 million of property renovations. The former model, dubbed the “queen of mean,” served 18 months in federal prison. She died in August at age 87.***

The estate must be sold, according to terms of Mrs. Helmsley’s will, which left the bulk of her billionaire real-estate holdings and property to a trust, $12 million to her dog and comparatively little to her closest relatives. The real estate includes a majority interest in the Empire State Building.***

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.